Henderson State senior running back Querale Hall sat on a retaining wall inside Cliff Harris Stadium, receiving pats on the back from fans of both teams after the Reddies' 24-21 loss to arch-rival Ouachita Baptist in Saturday's 93rd Battle of the Ravine.
"It was a tug-of-war game, as you could see," said Hall, who scored a go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run with 1:44 to play to give the Reddies a lead they could not hold. "It was tough out there."
Hall, the game's leading rusher, said he was hopeful Henderson (9-2) would maintain its position -- it was No. 7 in Region 3 before Saturday-- and receive a spot in the 28-team NCAA Division II playoff bracket, which was released Sunday afternoon.
It didn't work out that way.
The Reddies will not join two other Great American Conference teams -- Ouachita Baptist (11-0) and Harding (10-1) -- in the playoffs that begin Saturday.
"I just want to say I'm proud of the way our kids fought," Henderson Coach Scott Maxfield said of the Reddies, who lost at Harding 14-13 in Week 4 and 24-21 at OBU in Week 11. "And I'm disappointed that we got left out."
Henderson State's season is not over -- it accepted an invitation to play in the Dec. 7 Agent Barry Live United Bowl against Missouri Western in Texarkana -- but that didn't make it any easier for Maxfield and Henderson Athletic Director Shawn Jones to accept Sunday's news.
OBU, as expected, was the No. 2 seed behind 10-0 Ferris State, which received a first-round bye, and the Tigers will host at-large Lindenwood, Mo., at noon Saturday at Cliff Harris Stadium.
OBU Coach Todd Knight said his staff was just starting to break down tape of Lindenwood, led by sophomore quarterback Cade Brister, who has thrown for 3,301 yards and 36 touchdowns while rushing for 445 yards and 6 touchdowns.
"We're excited about it, ready to take the next step," said Knight, whose Tigers won their first Division II playoff game last season, 35-7 over Indianapolis.
Harding, which entered the final week in the top 4 of the region and in line to host a first-round game, dropped out of the top 4 after beating Arkansas Tech 49-14 and will travel to play No. 3 seed Northwest Missouri State (10-1) in Maryville.
Harding, making its fourth consecutive playoff appearance, will be making the approximately 460-mile bus trip to Northwest Missouri, a 6-time Division II national champion that is making its 16th consecutive playoff appearance and 24th overall.
The Bisons and Bearcats have met twice in the playoffs, with Northwest Missouri winning 35-0 in 2012 and 2016.
"We're not playing their national championships, we're not playing against their tradition," Harding Coach Paul Simmons said.
Harding has won 10 consecutive since losing its season-opener 16-14 to OBU, and Simmons said the Bisons have no problem playing on the road.
Harding is 5-3 in road playoff games since 2016.
"These guys have been road warriors," Simmons said. We love a good bus ride."
Victories by Harding and OBU would set up a rematch of their season-opener matchup in Arkadelphia on Nov. 23.
Central Missouri entered Week 11 as the No. 2 seed with a 10-0 record, but it slipped to No. 4 and will host the region's third at-large team, the University of Indianapolis.
Henderson State's Jones said he is disappointed the committee chose to put Lindenwood (8-3 overall, 8-2 vs. Division II) in over the Reddies, but he reasoned sometimes things don't go your way when you leave such decisions in the hands of others.
"That's what happened today," said Jones, who spent four years as the chairman of the NCAA selection committee when he was at Central Missouri. "I feel like they made a mistake."
Sports on 11/18/2019